Description: Integrated all-in-one network music system with DSP (XMOS processor) with custom software, and built-in powered stereo speakers. Driver array: 2 tweeters, 2 midrange drivers, 2 woofers. Amplification: direct-digital class-D; 75W for each of the 6 drivers (450W total). Digital inputs: Optical (S/PDIF up to 96kHz), USB2 (Type A), HDMI ARC; Analog input: 3.5mm stereo jack. Network connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz, 5.0GHz), Ethernet. Streaming: Apple AirPlay 2, built-in Chromecast (via Google Home app), UPnP (up to 32-bit/384kHz); Native apps: Spotify…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Accessories: AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power Conditioner with NRG 10 power cord, and Vodka Ethernet cable. Critical Mass Systems Maxxum equipment racks. Zanden Audio AT-1 proprietary foam bass traps/tubes (corners, 2×).—Julie Mullins
Summer!
COVID-19 notwithstanding, summer—warmth, flowers, leaves on trees—has descended on Greenwich Village, my New York City home for the past 30 years. What hasn't descended are tourists, belching motorcycles, behemoth sports cars, beer drinkers, and the usual summer hell-raisers, the sort that would've sent legendary Village bohemians Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs running back to their cold-water flats.
With these absences comes something unique to my downtown experience: peace and quiet. As I write this, in early June, the streets are mostly empty, birdsong seems…
The specifications indicate that the L100 need power to sing. In this, the specifications are correct—but I found that the connection between amplifier power and musical satisfaction wasn't linear. My workhorse Heed Audio Elixir integrated amplifier ($1195, 50W into 8 ohms, 65W into 4 ohms) proved insufficient; with the Heed, the L100s sounded soft and lacked dynamics. The bass was better with the Schiit Audio Ragnarok II (60Wpc into 8 ohms, 100Wpc into 4 ohms, $1799), but the L100s still seemed underdriven.
Polk and Mytek
Paydirt came in the form of the Mytek Brooklyn AMP+ (250Wpc…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, ported, standmount loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25.4mm) "Pinnacle Ring Radiator" tweeter, 5.25" (133cm) polypropylene-cone mid/woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Frequency range: 43Hz– 50kHz. Nominal impedance: 3–4 ohms. Minimum impedance: Not specified. Sensitivity: 85.5dB/W/m. Recommended amplifier power: 70Wpc. Minimum recommended power: 30W. Peak power: 160Wpc.
Dimensions: 13.64" (346.5mm) H × 7.78" (197.6mm) W × 11.29" (286.8mm) D. Weight: 16.9lb (7.67kg).
Finish: Piano black, brown walnut, medium oak.
Serial numbers of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Hana ML MC phono cartridge.
Preamplification:
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Tavish Audio Design Adagio.
Power amplifier: Mytek Brooklyn AMP+.
Integrated amplifiers: Cary SLI-80HS, Schiit Audio Ragnarok II, Heed Audio Elixir.
Loudspeakers: Quad S2, Spendor BC1.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF power cord, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Kuzma PLATIS 65 isolation platform, IsoTek…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Polk Legend L100's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses.
Polk specifies the L100's sensitivity as 85.5dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was actually a little higher, at 87dB(B)/2.83V/m. The L100's impedance is specified in the manual as 4 ohms, with a minimum magnitude of 3 ohms, though on Polk's website it is specified as 3–4 ohms. The solid trace in fig.1 shows that the impedance magnitude remains above 4 ohms from the bass…
In 2013, when I first wrote about it (footnote 1), the TechDAS Air Force One ($105,000) was that company's best and most expensive turntable; it joined the handful of products that have earned an A+ in our semiannual Recommended Components feature—a rating that remained in place for six years. But too much time has passed since the Air Force One was auditioned by a Stereophile writer, so it has now fallen from that list.
The Air Force One is still available, but it's now a special-order product that, according to distributor Graham Engineering, can take up to six months to deliver. So…
I found that one end of the acceptable belt tension range produced greater absolute speed variation measurements but impressively flat and stable high-pass–filtered results (smooth green line), while at the other end, there were smaller absolute speed variations but greater filtered speed undulations.
Crisply executed commands
For this kind of money, you should expect your playback wishes to be obeyed. The Air Force One Premium does not disappoint. Once set up, it remains set up. It's physically quiet (including the pumps), responsive, and neither finicky nor tweaky. The…
Sidebar: In Heavy Rotation
Ali Akbar Khan: Music of India: Morning and Evening Ragas (Connoisseur CS 1766)
Band of Horses: Acoustic at the Ryman (Brown Records BRWN003)
Clark Terry and His Orchestra: With Paul Gonsalves (SAM/French Decca 153924)